Good bye hard courts and hello clay! With spring comes the clay court season that leads to the second Grand Slam of the year, Roland Garros. Although French players have had little success on this surface in recent years, clay was invented in Cannes, south of France … by English players William and Ernest Renshaw.

Grand Prix Hassan II, Marrakech, 8-14 April

From 1990 to 2015 the tournament was held annually at the Complexe Al Amal in Casablanca, before relocating to Marrakesh in 2016. It is currently the only ATP event held in Africa. Two Moroccans have won the title on home soil: Hicham Arazi in 1997 and Younes El Aynaoui in 2002. Former champions include Thomas Muster, Gilles Simon, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Stan Wawrinka.
Last year, Pablo Andujar (number 355) became the lowest-ranked ATP champion in 20 years, beating first-time finalist Kyle Edmund to win the Grand Prix Hassan II for a record third time.

The first appearance of lawn tennis in the Principality of Monaco was in January 1880, when a court with a covering of lime was laid down on the lawn of the pigeon-shooting range at the rear of the Hotel de Paris. In April 1892 Prince Charles III approved a proposal from Comte Bertora, the administrator of the Société des Bains de Mer, the local authority, for the installation of two permanent clay courts and a croquet lawn.
The first tournament was held in March 1896 and was won by George Hillyard. The following year began the start of the great days of the tournament, supported for a decade by the Doherty brothers.
It changed venue several times but the tournament has always attracted the greatest champions: Nicola Pietrangeli, Ilie Nastase, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander all won here in the past. Rafael Nadal won the title eight consecutive times between 2005 and 2012, making him the first player to win eight titles in a row at the same tournament. Last year, he won the title for the 11th time, dispatching Nishikori 6-3 6-2 in the final.

The first of three Masters 1000 played on clay, the Monte Carlo tournament is a fan favourite thanks to its magnificent location and scenic views on the Mediterranean Sea.

The Barcelona Open, better known in Spain as Trofeo Conde de Godo or simply Godo has been held at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899 since 1953.
American players won the first five editions of the tournament but only one has won it since: Todd Martin in 1998. All the best clay-court specialists have lift the trophy – that weighs 13 kg! – from Borg to Wilander, Muster to Ferrero. Rafael Nadal has won the singles title a record 11 times. In 2017, the centre court was named “Pista Rafa Nadal”.

The tournament will this year pay tribute to Manuel Orantes to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his first victory here. The 1969 final that Orantes won over Manolo Santana (6-4 7-5 6-4) is registered as the longest is the history of the competition. It started on May 18, but they could barely play 8 games because of rain. As the next day, both players had to travel to Zagreb to play a Davis Cup tie against Yugoslavia, the decision was made to postpone the match, which would resume 4 months later, on September.

Gazprom Hungarian Open, Budapest, 22-28 April

In 2017, Budapest replaced the former ATP 250 event in Bucharest, Romania. This is the first ATP event hosted in Hungary.
Lucas Pouille was the winner of the inaugural edition, defeating Aljaz Bedene in the final. In 2018, Marco Cecchinato won his first ATP title in Budapest after reaching the final as a lucky loser, defeating John Millman in straight sets. A few weeks later, he defeated Pablo Carreno Busta, David Goffin and Novak Djokovic en route to the French Open semifinals.

Second career title (after Gstaad in 2018) for Matteo Berrettini who rallied from a set down to beat qualifier Filip Krajinovic. With this victory, the Italian will make his entry to the top 40 for the first time.
Number one seed Marin Cilic lost to Pablo Cuevas while number two seed Borna Coric lost to eventual runner-up Krajinovic in the quarterfinals. Number three seed and defending champion Marco Cecchinato withdrew due to illness.

BMW Open by FWU, Munich, 29 April-5 May

The International Tennis Championships of Bavaria was first held in 1900 (on grass), but the BMW Open by FWU was first staged at Munich’s Iphitos Tennis Club in 1974.
Alexander Zverev will try to win for a record third time in a row. Last year he defeated fellow countryman and 3-time champion Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-3.

Millenium Estoril Open, 29 April-5 May

The Estoril Open was created in 2015 to replace the historic Portugal Open, which was canceled due to lack of sponsorships. The Portugal Open was both an ATP and WTA event. The men’s tournament was created in 1990 and has been won by current or future number 1s Thomas Muster (1995 and 1996), Carlos Moya (2000), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2001), Novak Djokovic (2007), and Roger Federer (2008).
Richard Gasquet was the winner of the first edition of the Estoril Open in 2015. Joao Sousa became the first Portuguese to win the tournament last year. He saved two match points against Pedro Sousa in the first round and defeated Next Gen players Stefanos Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe to claim the title.

Mutua Madrid Open, 5-12 May

From 2002 to 2008, the Madrid Masters were played on indoor hard courts at the Madrid Arena a couple weeks before Paris Bercy Masters. In 2009 the tournament transitioned from hard court to outdoor clay and replaced the Hamburg Open as the second Masters of the European clay court swing. Since then, the event is held at the Caja Majica which will host the 2019 Davis Cup finals.
In 2012, owner Ion Tiriac decided to swith to blue clay to “improve the experience for television viewers.”
Top players complained about the clay’s slipperiness, Nadal and Djokovic said they would not return to Madrid if the clay remained blue, and the tournament returned to the traditional red clay for the 2013 edition. Despite being played on red clay again, the conditions of play are made more difficult than Rome or Monte Carlo by altitude: Madrid is 650 meters above sea level and balls fly faster through thin air.

Last year, in the quarterfinals, Dominic Thiem ended Nadal’s 21-match and record 50-set winning streak on clay. Thiem had been the last man to take a set and win against Nadal on clay the previous year in Rome. The Austrian went on to reach the final, only to lose to Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, 12-19 May

The Rome tournament, the last big tournament before Roland Garros has a long, rich and controversial history. From 1930 to 1934, the Italian International Championships were held in Milan at the Tennis Club, but dictator Mussolini wanted the event in his capital, Rome, so the tournament moved to the Foro Italico (then called Foro Mussolini) in 1935. The Foro Italico was built form 1928 to 1935 as part of Mussolini’s plan to revive the glory of ancient Rome. He wanted “to create a forum that would surpass those of Caesar and Augustus”. The Foro Italico also contains the 82,000-seat Stadio Olimpico, home of Roma and Lazio football teams. Serie A itself was founded by the Duce, the first leader to use sport as a propaganda tool, even before Hitler.
The Stadium is still haunted by marble incarnations of the fascists human ideal: you can walk across mosaics that spell out “Duce”, a marble obelisk with the words “Mussolini Dux” still stands today, and 4-meter nude statues of sportsmen, from boxers to tennis players surround both the Stadio dei Marni (Foro’s track), the Nicola Pietrangeli court. Weird isn’t it?
The tournament was also filled with controversies in the 70’s, when Italian players (especially Adriano Panatta) received a little help from officials (read more below). But thankfully gone are those days, and a new King of Clay rules in Rome: Rafael Nadal, who recorded an eighth victory last year.
The final was interrupted by rain with Nadal a break down in the third set. But he rallied back to defeat Zverev 6-1 1-6 6-3 and claim his second Masters 1000 of the season. Beaten by Nadal in the semifinals, defending champion Novak Djokovic fell outside the Top 20 for the first time since October 2006.

9th title for Rafa in Rome, a record-breaking 34th Masters 1000 tournament title. He ends his wait for a first title this season, just at the perfect time, one week before he begins an other title defence in Paris. Nadal completes a fine week at Foro Italico, with straight set wins over Chardy, Basilashvili, Verdasco and Tsitsipas, and a 6-0 4-6 6-1 victory over Djokovic in the final.
Nadal was just too good for Djokovic, exhausted by his marathon matches against Del Potro and Schwartzman.

Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, 19-25 May

The Geneva Open is staged at the Tennis Club de Genève, the oldest and largest club in Switzerland, founded in 1896.
The tournament, held annually from 1980 to 1991, crowned 3 world number 1s: Bjorn Borg (1981), Mats Wilander (1982 and 1983), and Thomas Muster (1991), as well as 2 Swiss players, Claudio Mezzadri in 1987 and Marc Rosset in 1989. In 2015, after a 24-year hiatus, Thomaz Bellucci captured the title, followed by home crowd favorite Stan Wawrinka in 2016 and 2017.
In 2018, 38 years after the success of Balazs Taroczy during the first edition of tournament, a Hungarian player has once again lift the trophy. Marton Fucsovics, winner of Wawrinka in the semifinals, claimed his first ATP title with a 6-2 6-2 win over Peter Gojowczyk. The German beat Karlovic, Ferrer, Fognini and Seppi en route to his second final of the year (loss to Tiafoe in Delray Beach).

Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon, 19-25 May

From 1987 to 2009 Lyon held an indoor hard court tournament, traditionally played a few weeks before Paris Bercy. Yannick Noah won the inaugural edition, beating Joakim Nyström in the final. Other past champions include John McEnroe, Pete Sampras (3 times), Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andy Roddick. The event moved to Montpellier in 2010 and is now known as the Open Sud de France.
In 2017, the Open de Lyon returned to the ATP Tour calendar as a clay-court tournament, replacing the Open de Nice. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga captured the title, his 15th career title, his first ever on clay. Dominic Thiem was crowned last year after a hard fought 3-set victory over Gilles Simon in the final. Two weeks later he went on to reach his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal).

Pictures:1: pic taken by Tennis Buzz at the Babolat event at Roland Garros last year.2: Banco Sabadell3: MJN

If you’re interested in history of tennis, I recommend you the read of two books: – Love game: a history of tennis, from victorian pastime to global phenomenon by Elizabeth Wilson– The golden days of tennis on the French riviera 1874-1939 by Alan Little

Sergio Tacchini celebrates a decade as the official outfitter of the Monte Carlo Masters with a brand new collection, featuring uniforms for on-court officials, including chair umpires, line umpires and ball boys and girls.

The uniform polo shirt features bright colours, mostly turquoise and a thin neon orange piping outlining the raglan sleeve, and it will be made from techno fabric like the pro range match uniforms. This polo shirt, a merchandising item, will make a souvenir to wear at matches on the court. A novelty this year is the introduction of the Italian flag detail on many items of the collection: on the wristbands of the ball boys and girls, on the zips of track tops and bomber jackets and even on the official towels used by the players on the court.

The footwear includes a new technical shoe for ball boys and girls and court staff in a colourful mesh that matches the uniforms. The leather version of the same shoe style has a classic look but a sporty performance, ideal for training on the court.